Welcome to the three-ring circus of mice in my head…

We can thank this lovely Christmas season for my inability to do as many postings on my blog as I’d like to. It seems like it’s one Christmas party to another, shopping for gifts, and moving my home-base (with everything that entails!), to friends visiting. It just seems to never stop! I’m actually quite surprised with Christmas this year. I’m starting to feel like a woman on the verge of having business to attend to. It’s a strange feeling for me, but I have to admit, I’m really starting to enjoy it. I guess some would call it… maturing? Growing up? Getting a life? I don’t know. It is what it is, haha.

For example, tonight- Chris and I went to the Gates’s house for a “Welcome Home/Christmas Party” for their youngest daughter, Janelle, who is normally away in Georgia at school, and their older daughter, Melody and her husband Derek, who now live in California. I’ve known the Gates for a little over 10 years now, and they are a family I would consider my own. It was a lot of fun, and so so so great to see Melody again. I’d really love a chance to get back over to the West coast again and visit her in California. Who knows- I might just fall in love with it all over again and move back. That would be splendid.

Anyhow, I just wanted to update you all and let you know that I’m still here, I’m still alive, and things will get back to normal probably some time after Christmas (one can only hope!). In the meantime, I want to take a poll…

And of course, naturally, when I say “Track St. Nick as he flies around the world” I simply mean the NORAD Santa Tracker. If you haven’t seen this yet, I highly recommend checking it out. It’s great with kids and so much fun to do on Christmas Eve. It’s a website that actually tracks Santa’s stops around the world, and keeps an update of when he’ll be coming to your town, down to the second! They now have options for you to follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Picasa Web. I absolutely love it. My nephew, Mekaih and I tracked Santa last year. He was so excited, he couldn’t wait to fall asleep so he would come sooner.

And speaking of sleep… it’s now time for me to get some. I’ve got yet another full day tomorrow planned. Merry early Christmas, everyone, and good night!

Yesterday, I painted a mural for the lovely Liz and Steve. In remembrance of their friend who had passed away whom was always nicknamed “Peter Pan”, they wanted silhouettes of The Pan Man on the wall of their new infant’s nursery walls. I was more than happy to oblige. My friend, Katie is down from Illinois and since she’s looking to move here, I had her come with me and intern. It ended up being a huge help because without her, I would have not finished it in the same day. She was a huge blessing to have around. I did the design work, and she came after me to fill in all the silhouettes. During the process, I also had her take photos so we could document it. Below, you’ll see those! It was a long, hard day’s worth of work, but totally worth it when Liz and Steve walked into the room and saw it completed for the first time. They were blown away. She almost started to cry but blamed it on the pregnancy, haha. It was the most fulfilling part of the day. Anyhow, I’ll just get to the photos! They are in chronological order from what the room looked like before, the painting process, and at the bottom is the final product. Enjoy!

As some of you know, on Saturday I did a photo shoot with the beautiful Jennifer Rennie and her handsome son, Isaac. We went to the Maitland Art Center, in which someone was having a wedding, so we proceeded down to the lake instead. It was still a beautiful backdrop for some lovely photographs. We all had a blast and it was a delight to work with her and Isaac. He is a riot. He’ll randomly break into dance, he says the most random things, and he’s incredibly laid back and cool for his age.

Anyhow, I wanted to share a few teaser photos with you all before they go up on the website. Enjoy!

And naturally, afterward, we went to Jeremiah’s- The best Italian ice joint in town!

It was a fun day, haha.

If you’re interested in scheduling a photo shoot with me, please feel free to take a look around my website and contact me with any inquiries!

A strong sense of community has never had a greater meaning than the Swap and Shop at the Winter Park Plaza. Organized by local entrepreneur, Dana Marie Roquemore, owner of Other People Property- a collaborative business that combines the sale of vintage clothing and styling services, the Swap and Shop happens every three months. It consists of clothes, community, and charity; and the concept, once established, is really rather simple. Gather the clothing, jewelry, shoes and accessories that are taking up room in your closet, pack them in a bag and bring it to the Swap. $15 gets you in if you are able to drop off your items prior to the date, and only $20 if you must bring your items the day of the event. Once there, you are then greeted into a frenzy of free shopping as you can then sort through the plethora of items brought by other attendees. If you’re looking to spend money on something else truly unique, there are also vendors that resell lightly-used vintage clothing or accessories as well as hand-made items, all of which you certainly won’t find anywhere else.

Any items that are left at the end of the event are then donated to charities like Dress For Success– a non-profit organization that helps underprivileged women receive interview-appropriate clothing, and a percentage of the profits will go towards Hope for Haiti and Charity:Water so you can walk away feeling good about your decision to attend.

The next Swap and Shop will be April 20, 2015 at the Winter Park Plaza near Rollins College beginning at 5:30 pm until 8:00 pm. For more information, visit Other People’s Property’s Facebook or the Website, and schedule a time to go through your own closet for this fantastic event you won’t want to miss.

Are you one of those people that doesn’t put up Christmas lights because you just know you’ll have to take them all down a few weeks later? To make matters worse, do you have a neighbor that goes all out, seemingly just to spite you and your spirit of Grinch? I’ve got the perfect solution for you… Do what these people did:

Hahahhahahaa! I saw this driving home from the Swap and Shop (more on that tomorrow, I promise!) and I literally laughed out loud. So much so, I had to drive to the next road just to turn around, go back, and take a picture of it… I was even laughing in random bouts the whole 30 minute drive back to my house… I felt the need to share this Christmas Spirit with my faithful blog-followers. Merry Early Christmas!

Greetings from Fawn! I’m working in the shop today. I always love Fridays because its the day I work, but it is also the time I get to do a lot of work on my photography business. Speaking of which, just a friendly reminder:

December 19th is the last day available to sign up for a timeslot for my Holiday Sessions!

There are two options available for signing up:

1) Come visit us at Fawn in Historic Downtown Sanford (www.FawnMom.com) and sign up on the signup list. There is a $50 deposit to hold your spot, and it goes toward the $200. The rest is due the day of the shoot.

2) You can call me to set up your appointment anytime today before 7.30p (407.257.0753) and I will put your name on the list and run your credit card through the phone for your $50 deposit. And likewise, the rest is due the day of the shoot.

For more information on what you’ll receive through the Holiday Session and how it works, visit my other blog post for the details here:

Merry Christmas from my baby! He knew how much I needed these and he stepped up and got me what I needed for Christmas, and I couldn’t be more thankful! So now, my room will smell of fresh rubber until Friday when we’ll take my car in to get them put on. Unconventional? Maybe. But I wouldn’t have it any other way! I love it!